Where Music Comes to Play

SanDisk’s Open Letter Condemns Jobs’ Proprietary DRM

More top execs are buzzing in on the world of digital music and digital rights. This time it’s SanDisk’s CEO, Eli Harari. He states that having no DRM is not a solution, but there can be a happy medium with DRM that will favor both consumers and rights’ holders. This middle ground is using DRM but allowing users, not the MP3 player manufacturer, to choose where they purchase content. Harari condemns Apple’s closed DRM system saying that it is not consumer-friendly and brings up the issues of legality and anti-competitive nature of a proprietary system. Admittedly Harari says that a closed system offers a smoother user experience but restricts the freedom of the consumer.

Under the current business model, I believe that this is the ultimate solution by allowing consumers to purchase digital content from many different places. However, DRM is a headache to consumers no matter how you give it to them and in the end they won’t stand by it. Ultimately, it’s the business model that needs to change. But in order for that to change, there is a pink elephant in the room acting only in its own self-interest, the RIAA. Once technology rids the music world of RIAA, the relationship between the artist and consumer becomes less complicated and more respectful. The digital music revolution will give the music industry a major shake up. This will result in a major shift in the way artists sell music and make money without the soon-to-be-obsolete RIAA.

While I think that SanDisk is on a better path than some, I also think that the consumer is still rooting for a DRM-less way to listening to their favorite artists and will ultimately get it.

As a loud debate continues over how digital music is sold and used by consumers, SanDisk believes there is another way to address this issue—an approach less confrontational than that voiced by others in the industry.

The answer is to protect the interests of everyone involved, not to chastise rights holders for trying to safeguard the entertainment they create and support.

As a leader in the digital music industry, SanDisk has always supported freedom of choice for consumers. At the same time, we believe that entertainment companies and artists must be compensated.

Consumers deserve fair use of the digital entertainment they purchase, with the freedom to enjoy content on any device they own. SanDisk’s approach is to let consumers decide how and where they acquire and play back their music.

Proprietary systems, in short, aren’t acceptable to consumers. In recent months, there has been a rising chorus of complaints in Europe about the anti-competitive nature of closed formats that tie music purchased from one company to that company’s devices, and tie that company’s devices to its music service.

SanDisk is already offering an alternative with its Sansa line of MP3 players, which connect to many major online music stores, including Rhapsody, Napster, URGE, Yahoo! Music, emusic and Best Buy Digital Music Store. Users purchasing songs from those services can also play them on many non-SanDisk devices. SanDisk and our partners have full support from the four major music companies, and we believe our offering is no less secure than closed systems.

What’s more, the decision on using digital rights management (DRM) should rest with the music industry, not with device makers.

Time and again, we have seen that open choice prevails. The “walled garden” approach may offer a smoother user experience in the short run, but ultimately restricts user choice. Protecting music doesn’t require confining consumers to a single company’s service or devices. It’s time to tear down the walls.

SanDisk is looking at the big picture, by creating solutions rather than conflict. Building an infrastructure to give consumers fair access to digital content while protecting content creators is vital for the long-term health of the music industry, as well as to our business and to our competitors. SanDisk stands committed to making this happen.

Yes… SanDisk has any business raising this issue – these are the people who couldn’t wait to get on the MS PlaysForSure DRM platform. Then MS pulled the rug from under their feet, and now they suddenly feel a strong commitment to consumer issues.Yeah right.Sandisk, want to strike a deal for the consumers? Close a deal with allofmp3.com or some other operator offering undamaged music files for sale. Until you do, we could care less about your pitiful whining about being excluded from the most successful DRM bandwagon.

abi Editor's Choice

SanDisk Sansa Clip+

The Clip+ has a fantastic little form factor; somewhat cheap in build quality but very rugged. The interface is simple and relatively straightforward. The features on the Clip are more or less average, however it supports the alternative Rockbox firmware which provides tons of additional options (gapless playback, Replaygain, playlists, Last.fm scrobbling, etc). Read the full review or go ahead and buy it.

Cowon J3

The J3 is a fantastic PMP with a very nice AMOLED screen and tons of features. It sports Cowon's trademark BBE sound enhancements, and offers a customizable user interface with strong support by our user community. You can usually find it at Amazon for the best price - and don't forget to check out our review.

Microsoft Zune HD

Sure, many of us are not big fans of the walled garden, but there are a lot of great things going on with the Zune: sturdy hardware, ultra easy to use user interface, and a media player that is worthy of Editor’s Choice. You can check out our Zune HD review or stop by our Zune forums for the latest info and gossip.

Phonak Audéo PFE

Phonak Audéo PFE offer outstanding clarity and precision; natural, dynamic mids and treble, and decent bass for a single armature in-ear phone. They handle dense, complex music very well. The PFE work well with most acoustic and some electronic music genres, but bassheads might have to look at other alternatives. They're great for sports as well, since they fit very securely. Check out our review.

Hippo VB

The Hippo VB (Variable Bass) offers a serious subwoofer for on the go, right in your head. They don’t just deliver generous quantities of punchy, textured bass, but good audio quality over the whole frequency range with decent clarity and exceptional soundstage. Exchangeable bass ports let you customize their sound to your liking. Read our in-depth Hippo VB review.

Soundmagic E10 / E30

The Soundmagic E10 and E30 are basically right in the middle between the Phonak PFE and Hippo VB - not too analytical sounding, not too bass heavy. The E10 provide a bit more bass, the E30 a bit more clarity. Both come with a very fair price tag considering the sound quality they deliver - a great choice for the audio aficionado on a budget. Read our E10 and E30 reviews for more info.